Review of Elvis (2022) by Moviemitch96 — 24 Jun 2022

It's Elvis Presley's turn to get the musical biopic treatment here. His long and storied life is covered quite extensively in this epic of a film (clocking in at nearly 2 and three quarter hours long), is full of glitz and glamor in true Baz Luhrman fashion, (who also dazzled us with 'Moulin Rouge' and 'The Great Gatsby') and details everything from his extensive touring, his troubled and tragic personal life/marriage, and his financial abuse at the hands of his manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks in a rather hammy and prosthetic -heavy performance).

Stepping into the shoes of the legendary rock n roll singer is Austin Butler, who is without a doubt the primary reason to check this film out, as he completely loses himself within Elvis. From his near-identical resemblance to the singer to performing his own singing and sounding exactly like him, he will rightfully be the high standard from here on out to which all other Elvis impersonators are compared to or aspire to live up to.

As for the story itself, while it is standard biopic formula, the narration from the Colonel throughout adds a unique and fun touch to things, and Elvis's story is so extensively detailed that it's hard not to be impressed by the end result, along with the level of detail and production value that only enhances his story even further.

But overall, besides being just another musical biopic (which it is), it's still a worthy addition to the ever-growing list of musical biopics thanks largely in part to Butler's magnetic and committed performance, along with the dazzling production value that's unmistakably Baz Luhrman.

Both fans of his previous films and Elvis fans alike will likely eat this film right up.